An I.P.M.S./ M.O.S.S. Publication July 2015 Volume 7 Issue 7 I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

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1 An I.P.M.S./ M.O.S.S. Publication July 2015 Volume 7 Issue 7 IPMS/Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists Branson, Missouri Newsletter Editor: Nate Jones ipmsmoss@hotmail.com July: We met at The White House Theatre and had a very good turn out! We did a little after-show review of MOSS CON, discussing ways to improve for next year s show, and how our improvements from last year worked. There were lots of models on display for the round-table portion. Dan Nowak brought a 1950 Oldsmobile painted in I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E 5 Work In Progress: 1937 Studebaker Staff Car, Part 2 7 Classifieds: For Sale 9 History in a Box: Battle of Kursk 11 Next Meeting: 30 August Bob s Root Beer Pearl paint. It is a box stock chassis with a spares box V-8 engine; fully plumbed and wired including headers made from solder wire and turned aluminum tubing wrapped with heat shrink plastic for the intake. Dan also brought his 1967 Plymouth GTX that he built approximately 20 years ago. By his own admission it s not as detailed as his recent builds, but to any observer the kit is not lacking detail by any means! It s a Roadrunner Pro Street chassis painted with PPG Red and White. Dan made the seatbelts using masking tape and photo-etch buckles and fully plumbed and wired the engine.

2 Page 2 Bill Loden brought in his in progress Revell 1/72 Space Shuttle. He is using medical tape to create the thermal blankets on the outside of the shuttle and using Lake County Space Port ( spaceport.com) decals. Bill used stone texture spray paint to create the textured finish of the external fuel tank. For such a small scale, it is a large and impressive model! Bill also brought in his Father s Day gift from his wife Wingnut Wings 1/32 scale Fokker D. VII kit! Another impressive kit the weight of the box is as amazing as the level of detail provided on the sprues and decals sheets inside! Richard Carroll brought in two kits that have been Works in Progress since the 1970s! In the 1960s, Ford produced an Econoline series of vans that were turned into pickup trucks. Richard decided he wanted to build something along those lines and he set out to convert a couple of AMT kits. One kit was started as a normal size van pickup and the other was converted to a shorty van pickup, using VW seats and a round fuel tank. Evan Sherman (not pictured) told us that he has been working on a Revell P-61 Black Widow that he purchased at Hobby Lobby. He s been making some good progress, but the kit quality was giving him some problems. We are looking forward to seeing his work soon! Dusty Taylor brought in his AMT 1953 Studebaker Commander that he built sometime

3 Page 3 in1975 or He plans to revitalize the kit, repairing some damage from years of handling and storage, to be able to enter the kit into an upcoming competition! He also brought in two Valve Cover Racers that he recently built! Basically, they are pinewood derby cars for men! He creates his Racers from, as the name implies, a valve cover and the parts to an in-line skate! Each Racer weighs in at 8 lbs and will be raced down a 30 foot long track. Michael Steenstra brought in two inprogress armor kits: his Tamiya Cromwell Mk IV with some added camouflage netting, and his AFV Club Sturmtiger. The Sturmtiger interior looks good straight from the box, but Michael added some more detail from his spares box and aftermarket sets. Gary Sanders brought in his work in progress Wespe Models resin 1937 Studebaker Staff Car (see June issue for Part 1, and page 5 of this issue for Part 2 of his article), and a recent find at a Flea Market an original vintage Comet Models Squadron of Six Jets and Fighters set. Unfortunately, there were only five of the 6 kits in the box. And Gary also brought in his recently collected vintage Aurora 1/16 scale 1911 Buick Model 14 Roadster from their American Classics series.

4 Page 4 Mark Mahy brought in his recently purchased Mobius re-issue of their Gigantic Frankenstein. Mark has big plans for this monster figure kit and it was quickly voted in as the newest MOSS member. Paul Drinkall brought in his Italeri 1/35 M24 Chaffee tank that he built out of the box. Paul added some exterior stowage from Verlinden Products, and custom finished his Chaffee with the distinct markings of a Korean War era tank he saw detailed in a Squadron Signal book. Darren Gloyd brought in his recently finished (so recent, it was actually finished it at 3pm the day of the meeting!) re-released MPC 1/25 scale Mack DM 600 Tractor. He modified the kit to shorten the frame, and made some modifications to the cab as well. He finished his tractor using one coat of fiery orange lacquer paint. Mike Staworski brought in some Jacquard Pearl-Ex pigment powders that he had talked about at a previous meeting basically, you can mix the pigment powder into a clear carrier and apply to the model!

5 Page 5 Nate Jones brought in his Italeri 1/35 PT-596 kit and some memorabilia and photos of his maternal grandfather who served two tours of duty as a Torpedoman aboard PT boats in the Pacific theater during WWII. The chocolate candy tin box was used as his shaving kit during his time overseas. The white dixie cup hat and the canteen are both the ones he wore while serving in the Pacific. Nate had originally planned to purchase and build the PT boat kit as a gift for his grandfather, but after his grandfather passed away, Nate decided to purchase and build two kits one representing each boat on which his grandfather served in remembrance. Go to and check out the Gallery for more pictures! We re making it a small world, because small things matter! Wespe Models German Studebacker Staff Car 1939, part 2 by Gary Sanders I started detail painting on the '37 Staff Car. I was going to paint the wheels the same maroon as the body, but could not match the spray maroon using a brush. Additionally, I did not want to spray into a cup and brush on the paint so I decided to paint the wheels an accent color. I chose a tan color. Initially, I planned to use Bare Metal foil the hub cap but painted the hubs silver instead. I then painted silver beauty rings on the edge of the wheels. The suspension parts and the chassis were painted black and painted the chassis black and the exhaust system silver.

6 Page 6 Next step was to Bare Metal Foil the chrome portions on the car. A 1937 Studebaker did not have a lot of chrome and since this is a small model I will only be applying Bare Metal to the grill in front of the car and the sweeps down the sides of the hood. Studebaker engines were a dark green very much like OD Green, so I painted the molded on portion of the engine dark green to represent that color. (Above) This is the completed (for me) underside of the car. Thanks, Gary! Looking forward to seeing Part 3! ~editor If you have an article or work in progress build that you would like included in, please it to ipmsmoss@hotmail.com. Special Thanks to Rusty Hamblin for sharing his Feb 1985 issue of CARtoons magazine, which is the source of this Karl Kohler Model Behavior funny!

7 Page 7 AIRCRAFT KITS FOR SALE 1/48 Accurate Miniatures SBD-3 Dauntless Battle of the Coral Sea $20.00 Kit#3411 1/48 Tamiya Me262 A-2a with Kettenkraftrad (sealed box) $25.00 Kit#61082 If interested or have any questions, please me at msteenstra1@yahoo.com. ARMOR KITS FOR SALE 1/35 Scale Dragon M4A3(75)W ETO Smart Kit $30.00 Kit#6698 1/35 Scale Tamiya M26 Pershing Tank (T26E3) $20.00 Kit#35254 If interested or have any questions, please me at msteenstra1@yahoo.com. REFERENCE BOOKS FOR SALE The following books are for sale: $3.00 each or 4 for $10.00

8 Page 8 Also, if there were any items that were on my vendor table at MOSS CON 2015 that you would like to inquire about please me at msteenstra1@yahoo.com. If you have a Classified Ad that you would like included in, please it to ipmsmoss@hotmail.com Dan Nowak uses telescopic medical needles (like those used in spinal tap procedures) for making automobile antennas. Need to open a door on your model car, but it s molded to the body? Want to change the angle of the ailerons or elevators on your airplane? Scribing with a hobby knife or razor saw can work, but you can also use common cotton sewing thread or even pre-made dental floss picks. Use gentle but firm pressure in a sawing motion to cut through the plastic. It takes a little while depending on the size of the part you re cutting, but you will reduce the chance of damaging the plastic or details around the part, and it takes a smaller bite into the plastic.

9 Page 9 History In A Box The Battle of Kursk (5 July August 1943) The Battle of Kursk, between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front 280 miles southwest of Moscow. The German offensive was code-named Operation Citadel and led to one of the largest armored clashes in history, the Battle of Prokhorovka. The German offensive was countered by two Soviet counter-offensives, Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev and Operation Kutuzov. For the Germans, the battle represented the final strategic offensive they were able to mount in the east. For the Soviets, the victory gave the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the war. The Germans hoped to weaken the Soviet offensive potential for the summer of 1943 by cutting off a large number of forces that they anticipated would be in the Kursk salient. The Kursk salient, or bulge, was 160 miles long from north to south and 99 miles from east to west. By eliminating the Kursk salient, the Germans would also shorten their lines of defense, nullifying Soviet numerical superiority in critical sectors. The plan envisioned an envelopment by a pair of pincers breaking through the northern and southern flanks of the salient. German dictator Adolf Hitler thought that a victory here would reassert German strength and improve his prestige with his allies, who were considering withdrawing from the war. It was also hoped that large numbers of Soviet prisoners would be captured to be used as slave labor in the German armaments industry. The Soviets had intelligence of the German intentions, provided in part by the British intelligence service and Tunny intercepts. Aware months in advance, that the attack would fall on the neck of the Kursk salient, the Soviets built a defense in depth designed to wear down the German panzer spearheads. The Germans delayed the offensive, while they tried to build up their forces and waited for new weapons, mainly the new Panther tank but also larger numbers of the Tiger heavy tank. This gave the Red Army time to construct a series of deep defensive belts. The defensive preparations included minefields, fortifications, artillery fire zones and anti-tank strong points, which extended approximately 190 miles in depth. Soviet mobile formations were moved out of the salient and a large reserve force was formed for strategic counteroffensives The Battle of Kursk was the first time in the Second World War that a German strategic offensive was halted before it could break through enemy defenses and penetrate to its strategic depths. The maximum depth of the German advance was miles in the north and 22 miles in the south. Though the Soviet Army had succeeded in winter offensives previously, their counter-offensives following the German attack at Kursk were their first successful strategic summer offensives of the war On the evening of 12 July, Hitler summoned Field Marshals Günther von Kluge and Erich von Manstein to his headquarters in East Prussia. On 10 July, the Western Allies had invaded Sicily. The threat of further Allied landings in Italy or along southern France made Hitler believe it was essential to move forces from Kursk to Italy and to discontinue the offensive. Kluge welcomed the news, as he was aware that the Soviets were initiating a massive offensive against his sector, but Manstein was less welcoming. Manstein's forces had just spent a week fighting through a maze of defensive works and he believed they were on the verge of breaking through to more open terrain, which would allow him to engage and destroy the Soviet armored reserves in a mobile battle. Hitler agreed to temporarily allow the

10 Page 10 continuance of the offensive in the south part of the salient, but the following day he ordered Manstein's reserve the XXIV Panzer Corps to move south to support the 1st Panzer Army. This removed the force Manstein believed was needed to succeed. On 16 July, German forces withdrew to their start line. The following day, Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) ordered the II SS Panzer Corps to be withdrawn and transferred to Italy. The strength of the Soviet reserve formations had been greatly underestimated by German intelligence, and the Soviets soon went onto the offensive. The casualties suffered by the two combatants are difficult to determine due to several factors. In regard to the Germans, equipment losses were complicated by the fact that they made determined efforts to recover and repair tanks. For example, tanks disabled one day often appeared a day or two later repaired. German personnel losses are clouded by the lack of access to German unit records, which were seized at the end of the war. Many were transferred to the United States national archives and were not made available until 1978, while others were taken by the Soviet Union, which declined to confirm their existence. Historians estimate Soviet losses during the German offensive as much as 177,877 casualties. Soviet equipment losses during the German offensive came to 1,614 tanks and self-propelled guns destroyed or damaged of the 3,925 vehicles committed to the battle. The Soviet losses were roughly three times larger than the German losses. However, large Soviet reserves of equipment and their high rate of tank production enabled the Soviet tank armies to soon replace lost equipment and maintain their fighting strength. The Red Army repaired many of its damaged tanks; many Soviet tanks were rebuilt up to four times to keep them in the fight. Soviet tank strength went back up to 2,750 tanks by 3 August due to the repair of damaged vehicles. According to historian Christer Bergström, Soviet Air Forces losses during the German offensive amounted to 677 aircraft on the northern flank and 439 on the southern flank. Total casualties are uncertain. Bergström's research indicates total Soviet air losses between 12 July and 18 August, during the German offensive and the Operation Kutuzov counteroffensive, were 1,104. Historian Karl-Heinz Frieser, who reviewed the German archive record, calculated that during Operation Citadel 54,182 casualties were suffered. Of these, 9,036 were killed, 1,960 were reported missing and 43,159 were wounded. During Operation Citadel, 252 to 323 tanks and assault guns were destroyed. The total number of German tanks and assault guns destroyed during July and August along the entire Eastern Front amount to 1,331. Of these, Frieser estimates that 760 were destroyed during the Battle of Kursk. Beevor writes that "the Red Army had lost five armored vehicles for every German panzer destroyed." Frieser reports Luftwaffe losses at 524 planes, with 159 lost during the German offensive, 218 destroyed during Operation Kutuzov, and a further 147 lost during Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev. In reviewing the reports of the quartermaster of the Luftwaffe, Bergström presents different figures. Between 5 and 31 July, Bergström reports 681 aircraft lost or damaged (335 for Fliegerkorps VIII and 346 for Luftflotte 6) with a total of 420 being written off (192 from Fliegerkorps VIII and 229 from Luftflotte 6. Taken directly from:

11 Page August Sunday at 6pm at Godfather s Pizza in Ozark, MO (510 E. South Street). Come early and enjoy some pizza! Room is reserved starting at 5pm. Bring a friend! If you have a tip or technique to share, bring it in too! See you there! If you have a tip or technique to share, bring it in too! See you there! Go to and check out the Events Calendar for upcoming meetings, shows and events! We ll see you at the meeting on August 30 th! Take care, be safe and Happy Modeling! IPMS/Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists Branson, Missouri Phone: Nate Jones ipmsmoss@hotmail.com We re making it a small world! Find us on Facebook at Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists